Ma'Sumi (Saghir Hasan Al-)_The Earliest Muslim Invasion of Spain

8/13/2019 Ma'Sumi (Saghir Hasan Al-)_The Earliest Muslim Invasion of Spain

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THE EARLIEST MUSLIM INVASION OF SPAIN

Author(s): M. SAGHIR HASAN AL-MA'SUMISource: Islamic Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (MARCH 1964), pp. 97-102Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, IslamabadStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20832727.

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THE EARLIESTMUSLIM INVASIONOF SPAINM. SAGHIR HASAN AL-MA'SUMI

The naval power of theMuslims developed and thrived in theMediterranean during the reigns of *Umar and 'Uthman, the secondand third Caliphs. 'Umar was, however, unwilling to send his menout of Arabia, not to speak of sending them out to the sea. Hewas anxious to see that his people kept their habits and characterpure and clean and free from extraneous influences. Early in thereign of 'Uthman, the Byzantine maritime activities increased considerably. Having been driven out of Egypt and the littoral ofAfrica, the Romans were anxious to regain supremacy at sea whichwas still free from Muslim enterprise. But Mu'awiyah I, thegovernor of Syria, was ever anxious to obtain the Caliphal per

mission to engage the Romans on the sea. At last his burningdesirewas fulfilled uring the time of the thirdCaliph and hesucceeded in securing permission for increasing the Muslim seapower. The governor of Egypt was likewise allowed to build upa navy after the second conquest ofAlexandria when the Romanssuffered a defeat, both sides sustaining heavy casualties. Realizingthe fact that unless the Muslims met the Byzantine forces on thesea the latter would not abandon the hope of wresting some slicesof the littoral from the hands of the Muslims, the Caliph veryreluctantly gave the permission. Successive naval encounters convinced the Romans of their mistake as they were soon driven outof the island of Cyprus. The Muslims gradually proved theirsupremacy over the ancient mariners and the strongest sea-faringnation of the age.

As stated by al-Tabarl, M *Uthm?n b. 'Affan sent in 27/647-8'Abd Allah b. N?fi;b. al-Husayn and'Abd Allah b.Nifi'b. 4Abdal-Qays at the head of a force to Spain via Ifrlqiyah and thesea".1 They were also advised tomeet *AbdAllah b. Sa'd b.AblSarh, the governor of Egypt, at a later stage. 'Uthman alsoaddressed a letterto all thosewho responded to the call of thetwo 'Abd Allahs, the leaders of the expedition,saying : 'Verily*Constantinople istobe conquered fromthe direction of the seaonly. Now, if you conquer al-Andalus you are surely to share the

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93 ISLAMIC STUDIESreward and commendation with the conquerors of Constantinople,till the end of the time. And, peace be on youPThe unanimous version of al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir,3 Ibn al-Athir,4

AbQ '1-Fid?'5, and al-Himyari6 (i.e. Ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im al-Himyarl,author ofKitab al-Rawd al-Mitar fxKhabar al-Aqtdr) is that the

Muslims did reach the soil of al-Andalus, conquered a part thereof and stayed there. Al-Tabari precisely states that theMuslimsnot only conquered Spain but also conquered "Afranjah"7, signifying Portugal, and that they grew in power there as they did inIfrlqiyah. Ibn al-Athir also endorses this statement.8As for 'AbdAllah b.Nafi' b. al-Husayn and 'Abd Allah b.Nafi' b. 'Abd al-Qays, theyboth belonged to the tribe of Fihr

whose scions like 'Uqbah b. Nafi* excelled in seamanship at a laterstage. They carriedout theorders of the Caliph faithfullyandpiloted their naval forces through theMediterranean to the coastof Spain. Aba '1-Fida'9, however, says :

CUthman ordered 'Abd Allah b. Nafi' b. al-Husayn to marchin the direction of al-Andalus. He therefore fought in that direction, and then returned to Ifrlqiyah.) The statement ofAbu '1-Fidahas, perhaps, led some European historians to doubt the conquestof a part of al-Andalus during the time of 'Uihman. EdwardGibbon, convinced of this expedition, says, "the conquest ofAfrica,from the Nile to the Atlantic Ocean, was first attempted by thearms of the Caliph 'Uthman", but belittles the Muslim conquest ofSpain during this period and says : "As early as the time of'Uthman, their piratical squadrons had ravaged the coast ofAndalusia, nor had they forgotten the relief of Carthage by theGothic succours."10

Gibbon's statement dispels all shadow of doubt on this questionsince instead of doubting its occurrence, he characterizes the

Muslim squadron as "piratical" which "ravaged the coast ofAndalusia", forgetting that a 'piratical squadron' could hardlyravage the coast of a vast territory like that of Andalusia. Thoughthe strength of the squadron is not mentioned, the statementobviously gives the idea that itmust have been of considerable size,otherwise the expedition would not have succeeded in ravaging"the coast ofAndalusia" miles away from the mainland of Ifrlqiyah.It is, however, strange that E. Levi-Provengal calls this historic



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M. SAGH1R HASAN AL-MA'SUMI 99invasion a legend.11

Inview of the fact thatthewhole of Ifriqiyahup to theAtlanticwas under the rule of 'Uthman, there remains little doubt that theMuslim vessels must have sailed to the coast of Spain. Ifriqlyah,as described by YaqQt al-Hamawi,12 designates the vast countrylying pposite the islandof Sicily, with its other end extendingopposite to the peninsula of al-Andalus, both being situated on thenorth of the vast land (Ifriqlyah) ;Sicily turning o theeast andal-Andalus turning to the west. Referring to AbQ 'Ubayd al-Bakrlof al-Andalus, YaqQt further states13

that in length the limits ofIfriqiyahbegin fromBarqah on the east to the lush green Tanjahon the west, and in breadth they run from the sea to the sandydesert on the borders of Sudan. Thus, after subjugating Ifriqiyahand Marrakush, itwas natural that theMuslims invaded the mainland of Spain across the sea particularly when they had become themasters of the sea.

Al-Tabarl,14 Aba 1-Fida',15 as also Ibn al-Aj&ir,16 mention thereturn of 'Abd Allah b. Nafi' b. 'Abd al-Qays, to Ifriqiyah, wherehe was appointed governor after the recall of 'Abd Allahb. Sa'd b.Abl Sarhwhile theyprefersilence about 'Abd Allah b.Nafi' b. al-Husayn, who must have settled in the conquered land(al-Andalus). Al-Tabari records : "The affair of al-Andalus continued tobe like the affair of Ifriqiyah till the time of Hisham[b. 'Abd al-Malik]; theBerbers protecting their land and those inal-Andalus remaining in their own state".17

It is, however, strange that this invasion does not find mentionin the historical works of al-Baladhuri, Ibn Qutaybah, Ibn Khaldun,and Yaqut al-Rflml whose notice it has escaped, most probablybecause the details were missing.

The growing naval power of the Muslims in the first century ofthe Hijrah, however, finds an echo in this campaign which pavedthe way for the later full-scale Muslim invasion of Spain whichbrought the whole of that country under their sway. That the

Mediterranean was in the hands of the Muslims is clear from thefact that they had occupied Cyprus, and had driven out the Romansfrom the southern ocean. Hence, the whole of North Africa layat their feet. Occasional contumacy was displayed by the Berbertribes but they were soon subjugatedand finallyembraced Islamwith great zeal and enthusiasm.

Thus the invasion of Spain under 'Uthman b. *Affan cannot be



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100 ISLAMIC STUDIEStreated lightly rmerely ignoredforthe details are missing. Thisinvasion reminds us of the dauntless courage of early Muslims andtheir love of adventure; and therein lies its great significance andhistorical value.

NOTES1. Al-Tabari, TVrfM (ed. E. Sachau et ah), sub anno 27 A. H?, pp. 2816-17:

-ji jj ^ uuti ioiVf Jl ^ du52. J&d. :*M^k~*)t Uf ^JJVI JaI ^JUjI y*Jl ^jolr* Cj-^xT

L*fv*>


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M. SAGHIR HASAN AL-MA'SUMI 1013. IbnKathlr, AUBidayah wa'l-Nihayah, Cairo, 1351A. H? vii: 152:

4. Ibn al-Athlr, Ta'rlMk aUKamih Al-Azhanyah Press, Cairo. 1301 A. H.f111:45:

l^pei î^l JJ? ? ixl *~Ja^k**2JIU Ul i \&*-* 6-* J'5. Abu'l Fids', Ta'riM. Cairo, 1325A.H.. I; 167 :

Vâ.Jl 61Ow^' 6*' ?^ 6* 6^ ^1 c**:xil- tjl Jiljlc ^fj

j 6?^6. E. Levi-Provencal, La Pgninsule Ibe*rique au Moyen-age D'aprte Le KitUb

Ar-rawd al-Mi'tUr, Leiden, 1938, p. 6 : "Al-Andalus est un territoire ou Tonvcombat pour la foi (dargihld) etun lieu de sejour en ribat: differentes nationsiftfideles Y entourent en effet k 1'East, au Nord et en partie a l'ouest. Onrapporte au sujet de 'UthmSn-qu' Allah l'agree : qu'il e'crivit aux contingents leVespour conquerir aUAndalus : 'Ensuite, [Sachez que] Constantinople ne seraprise que larsque nous nous serons assure la possession d'al-Andalus'. Sivousarrivez a conquerir ce dernier pays, vous serez les associen de ceux a qui ensuitereviendra l'honneur de prendre GonstantinopleV

Also cf.â?o j t$J^? kL*?lXj j ^ J jJ?^JVIJyje. J v-OxJl^4 JI l^SâJ\ ^j6^ Q-*- SJj \j&s JwaI vJUÎ ^j^t^XJîS ^4 Uc'l X^lkxk^HJl 6U


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102 ISLAMIC STUDIES8. Ibn al-Athlr, op. cit., Hi : 45 :

"-A.Jjylti ?\Juil o^J^ j j ?\JLilJ* ?u)l9. Ta'rlkh. i: 167.

10. E. Gibbon, TAeHistory of theDecline and Fall of theRoman Empire,(ed.)William Smith,London, 1862, vol. vi, pp. 342, 353.

11. Cf. La Pe'ninsule Ibe'rique au Moyen-age .. . , p. 6 f.n. : "On trouve cettelegende egalement rapportee par Ibn aUAtir . . .Ksmil, iii, p. 72 Annales, p. 17."

12. Mu'jam aUBulddn, al-Sa*5dah Press, Cairo, 1323 A. H., i: 300.13. Ibid., p. 301.14. Ta'rikh, p. 2817.15. Ta'rikh* I: 167.16. Ibn al-Athir, op. cit., iii: 45.17. Cf. al-Tabarl, op. cit., p. 2817.

Also cf. al-Shaykh Abu'l-'Abbas Ahmad b. Khalid al-NSsirl, aUlstiqsd liA&kbar Duwal aUMaghrib al-Aqsa, Dar al-Kit3b al-DSr al-Bayd?', Cairo, 1954,part I, pp. 34-5 :

Jl jy*.1 j * JJ0*yii

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Ma'Sumi (Saghir Hasan Al-)_The Earliest Muslim Invasion of Spain

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